Busy busy!

I have some fun blog posts in the works, but they’re a bit ambitious and it’s taking me longer to get them posted than I thought it would. Here is some other stuff that I’m up to (in no particular order).

Feb. 16th, 2008
I’m so excited to teach a workshop for Earlham Alums! I learned to make pots at Earlham where ceramics was highly supported by the students and faculty. Over the years of having a studio at Lillstreet, I’ve had a lot of EC alums visit me. Their support of clay as students at Earlham has transformed into a life long appreciation of handmade pots.
If you’re an Earlham alum in the mid-west, I hope you can make it to the workshop. Or if you know someone else who is… pass it on!

Join fellow Earlhamites, parents, and friends of the College at Lillstreet Art Center for a hands-on workshop with Emily Murphy ’99. Each participant will have the opportunity to learn hand building techniques and create his or her own mug or vase. Pieces will be fired and available for pickup approximately 2-3 weeks after the event. All work will be completely non-porous, food-safe, and microwave and dishwasher safe! We will gather at 11:30 for pizza and an opportunity to hear an update from campus!

I was excited to be invited to be a part of this exhibition. See the pictures 0f the show here.

An invitational exhibition featuring cups from established and emerging ceramic artists. The curator, Baltimore Clayworks’ Executive Director Deborah Bedwell believes, “… that a beautifully made cup, which satisfies its utilitarian and/or artistic intention is exactly what our culture needs and answers the question “Does the world need another cup?

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Yunomi Invitational at Akar
I have also been invited to be a part of the Yunomi Exhibition at Akar. I’ll keep you posted when the show is online. Right now the pots are in the mail, on their way to Akar.
They have the tea bowls from last year’s exhibition online. Take a look, there are some amazing vessels!
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My plan has been for a long time to redo my main website: sodafired.com
But everything else gets in the way (like making pots, my blog, etc…). But I am trying to at least keep some of the info updated.
Here’s the latest:

A new class session at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago began a couple of weeks ago. Spring session starts mid-March. The classes I’m teaching will be the same next session, but with slightly different days & times.

This class is for the proficient thrower to take their wheel work to the next level. We will push, pull and cut the clay on and off the wheel to create new forms on and off the wheel. We will use the wheel to make the basic forms, and then incorporate hand-building techniques to build forms that are out of round.

This class is for advanced students who have had some experience in soda and atmospheric firing, and are looking to investigate the process more deeply. We will be focused on exploring and understanding different clay bodies and dozens of slips. We will look at slides for inspiration and will identify particular finishes that are interesting and exciting. From there, we will study individual materials and how they react in the soda kiln. The end goal will be to create some new and unique finishes through the investigation of materials

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The Conversation Continues…
You might remember the show that I was a part of last fall: Being to Being: Collective Conversations in Clay. Check out the website– there are new images of the show (installed) and the process. And it sounds like there will be another show this fall with a new twist. As always, I’ll keep you posted!

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Ask a PotterI regularly getquestions via email from other ceramic artists seeking my advice. There are certain questions that I get over and over again: new graduates asking advice on what to do after graduation; questions about kilns and soda; people coming to visit Chicago wondering what clay focused things there are to do an see when they’re in town, etc… I try to answer these questions as best I can within the limitations of my time and knowledge. Last week I got a bunch of emails, many of which are variations on common questions that I get. I thought to myself: “I should use each question and my answer as a blog post.” So that’s what I’m going to do. And I’m hoping that maybe a dialog can open up and the Pottery Blog readers can help fill in the gaps in my advice with their own knowledge and experiences.

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Europe, clay?
Ian and I are planning a trip to Europe in mid to late August. We have a wedding to go to in Germany, but other than that, we don’t have any specific plans. We’re in the VERY early stages of planning (I think we’re heading north, Denmark, etc…). Does anyone have any suggestions for clay related things that we should consider doing/ seeing and maybe take in account in our planning? Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

When I go home, It’s not anywhere near where you will be, but there is a wonderful link for potters , uh do you read any foreign languages? I just realized it’s in German. I will see what I can find in English and get back to you…